Off the wire

Compiled from Democrat-Gazette Press Services

GOLF Ko surges to 4-shot lead

With two late birdies, Lydia Ko had a 3-under 68 and doubled her lead in the Marathon Classic in Sylvania, Ohio, four shots ahead as the former No. 1 player goes for her first

LPGA victory in two years. Danielle

Kang, who won last week at nearby Inverness Club, had a 70 and was four shots behind. Kang got within two shots of the lead with a birdie on the par-3

14th, but she bogeyed the next and picked up one birdie on the final two holes, both of them par 5s. Ko, meanwhile, birdied the 16th and 17th and finished four ahead. Ko was at 16-under 197. Former University of Arkansas player Maria Fassi, who was in fourth place entering Saturday’s play, shot a 4-over 75 and is now 11 shots behind the leader. Stacy Lewis (Razorbacks) fired a 72 and is 15 shots off the lead.

Ridings in fifth place

Paul Barjon fired a 5-under 66 on Saturday and is tied with Lee Hodges in the WinCo Foods Portland Open in North Plains, Ore., on the Korn Ferry Tour. Barjon and Hodges, who shot a 68 on Saturday, are both at 11-under 202 heading into today’s final round. Former University of Arkansas golfer Tag Ridings also shot a 68 and is four strokes behind the leaders. Ridings is tied with Steven Alker for fifth place at 7-under 206. Matt Atkins (Razorbacks) shot a 75 on Saturday and is at 2-over 215 for the tournament.

HORSE RACING Tiz the Law wins Travers

Belmont winner Tiz the Law easily won the $1 million Travers Stakes at Saratoga, and heads to Kentucky for next month’s Derby as the favorite. Ridden by Manny Franco, Tiz the Law ran 11/4 miles in 2:00.65 on Saturday and paid $3, $2.40 and $2.10. The 3-year-old colt remains undefeated this year with four consecutive graded stakes victories. He became the first New York-bred in 138 years to win the Belmont Stakes on June 20 in the first leg of the rescheduled Triple Crown series. Tiz the Law began his racing career at Saratoga last summer and has six wins in seven starts. Caracaro returned $6.40 and $4. Max Player, third in the Belmont, paid $3.70 to show.

Filly ties record

Ramona Hill matched the stakes record and became the second filly in three years to capture the $1 million Hambletonian at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, N.J., on Saturday, posting a onelength victory in trotting’s biggest race of the year. Driven by Andrew McCarthy, the 3-year-old daughter of Muscle Hill covered the mile in 1:50.1 in equaling the record set by her father in 2009. The Tony Alagna-trained trotter paid $2.80, $2.10 and $2.10 as the favorite in the field of 10 3-year-olds.

BASKETBALL Surgery for Simmons

All-Star Ben Simmons will have surgery on his left knee, a big blow for the Philadelphia 76ers and their hopes of making a deep run in this season’s playoffs. The 76ers announced Saturday that Simmons will be leaving the NBA’s bubble at Walt Disney World. There was no immediate time frame for his return, and it’s likely that no firm timetable on his recovery will be set until af- ter the surgery. Simmons left Philadelphia’s game against Washington on Wednesday midway through the third quarter. Tests revealed a loose body inside the knee, which led to the decision for surgery. Simmons is averaging 16.4 points, 8.0 assists and 7.8 rebounds this season.

MOTOR SPORTS Cindric tops Xfinity field

Austin Cindric waited through a lightning delay and then won Saturday at Road America for his fourth victory in his last five Xfinity Series races. Cindric led early on, fell off the pace after the weather delay, then charged back toward the front about two-thirds of the way through the race. He stayed ahead through two caution flags in the last six laps and beat A.J. Allmendinger by 1.318 seconds. Cindric is the 11th different Xfinity Series winner at Road America in as many years. After a caution flag came out with six laps left in the race, Justin Allgaier’s Chevy went off track on the restart and hit a concrete structure, causing another stoppage. They started back up with two laps remaining, and Cindric held off Allmendinger the rest of the way to extend his lead in the Xfinity Series points race. Chase Briscoe finished third. Kaz Grala was fourth, and Andy Lally fifth.

TENNIS Kontaveit, Ferro in finals

Fourth-seeded Anett Kontaveit will play 53rd-ranked Fiona Ferro today for the first tour-level tennis title in five months at the Palermo Ladies Open in Palermo, Sicily. Kontaveit beat top-seeded Petra Martic 6-2, 6-4, and Ferro rallied past Camila Giorgi of Italy 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 in the semifinals Saturday. Both Kontaveit and Ferro are aiming for their second WTA titles. Kontaveit’s only previous success came on grass in Rosmalen, Netherlands, in June 2017, while Ferro raised the trophy in Lausanne, Switzerland, last year.

FOOTBALL Browns activate Landry

Browns wide receiver Jarvis Landry was activated from the physically unable to perform list, clearing the way for him to practice in training camp after offseason hip surgery. Landry has not missed a game in six NFL seasons. The 27-year-old caught 83 passes for 1,174 yards and 6 touchdowns last season.

BASEBALL Giants place pitcher on IL

Jeff Samardjiza has been placed on the 10-day injured list by the San Francisco Giants due to a right shoulder impingement. Manager Gabe Kapler said before Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers that the right-hander told trainers and the coaching staff that he felt like wasn’t able to get the arm loose during Friday’s game. Samardjiza went 4-plus innings and allowed 6 runs on 7 hits in a 7-2 loss to the Dodgers. He is 0-2 with a 9.88 ERA in three starts.

HOCKEY Golden Knights earn top seed

Alex Tuch scored 4:44 into overtime, Jonathan Marchessault had two goals, and the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 on Saturday to earn the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. The Golden Knights will face Chicago in the first round of the playoffs. The second-seeded Avs take on Arizona. Tuch scored the winner on a shot over the shoulder of Avalanche goaltender Philipp Grubauer. … Rookie Nicolas Aube-Kubel scored twice, and the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-1 to clinch the Eastern Conference’s top seed through the playoffs. The Lightning not only dropped the game in completing preliminary round-robin play with a 2-1 record, Tampa Bay’s star defenseman Victor Hedman did not return after appearing to twist his right ankle while going down untouched midway through the first period. Joel Farabee had a goal and assist, Tyler Pitlick scored into an empty net with 1:20 left, and Carter Hart stopped 23 shots for the Flyers, who finished 3-0. Philadelphia didn’t allow more than one goal in also defeating Boston and Washington, and outscored its opponents by a combined 11-3.

Ko